Granny’s Attic – Wheels of the World
Grimdon Records – 6 September 2019
Still looking impossibly young (but sounding improbably timeless), Granny’s Attic are Cohen Braithwaite Kilcoyne (anglo concertina/melodeon/vocals), George Sansome (guitar/vocals) and Lewis Wood (violin/vocals). Despite still being in their 20s, this Worcester trio seem like they’ve fallen through a wormhole in the late 60s/70s and arrived in the present-day sounding remarkably like the British folk giants of that era: Tony Rose, Nic Jones, Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick and John Kirkpatrick.
Wheels of the World is their third full album following Better Weather (2014) and Off The Land (2016) and they have enlisted award-winning musician Sean Lakeman to produce. What Sean brings is a touch of audible class to match the group’s musicianship.
From the choice of material and the sleeve notes, it is clear that the trio have a huge knowledge of traditional material and a desire to hunt out and bring overlooked songs and versions to a wider audience. All but one of the ten well-chosen tracks are Trad. Arr. by the band with two also featuring original tunes and one wholly original instrumental by Wood.
Their decade on the road (barring further education interludes) has formed them into a tight and exciting ensemble, excelling at both traditional instrumentals and ballads. Cohen’s remarkably folky lead vocals feature on the more strident songs while George’s more wistful and romantic tones suit the sweeping ballads.
For example, George takes the lead on what is one of the standout tracks, Gilderoy – the tale of a 17th-century Scottish outlaw, collected in Horsham in the 19th century by Lucy Broadwood. Like me, you might be familiar with Jim Moray’s 2006 version. Here, Granny’s Attic wrings every inch of melancholy from the tune – and it’s a heartbreaker.
Meanwhile, Cohen tackles Ship In Distress (previously covered by the likes of Louis Killen) with a touch of menace befitting this tale of a ship’s crew facing death as their vessel drifts, contemplating cannibalism only to be rescued just before the chosen victim was due to be slaughtered and consumed. It is the trio’s commitment to the material and their unabashed traditionalism that keep these songs timeless but strangely contemporary.
A case in point is the song What I Saw As I Slept In My Chair – by far the most obscure of the material presented – by 19th-century balladeer Richard Durden. Unearthed by George from the Bodleian Broadside Ballads Online collection (hunt it out), it is a song about injustices witnessed by Durden in his day, all of which sound remarkably current. The group adapt the lyrics and add an extra verse about the refugee crisis. Let’s hope there’s no need to sing songs like this in the coming centuries, but I don’t hold much hope…
Alongside the expertly-played tunes such as Dove’s Figary and Riddle’s Hornpipe, are the three aforementioned original tunes by fiddler Lewis Wood. All fit snugly alongside the bruised and beaten trad material. Add this to extra lyrics and adaptations of the traditional ballads, and I rather hope we get some wholly original songs from Granny’s Attic soon. They’ve certainly served their apprenticeship.
Wheels of the World is a remarkable achievement: an album that not only sounds like a classic folk album of many years vintage, but it can also stand head-and-shoulders with the best of them too. And it seems like they’ve only just started…
Upcoming Tour Dates
Lake District Folk Weekend / 3rd-4th August 2019 / More info
Sidmouth Folk Festival / 7th-9th August 2019 / More info
Broadstairs Folk Week / 13th-14th August 2019 / More info
FolkEast / 16th-18th August 2019 / More info
Whitby Folk Week / 20th-22nd August 2019 / More info
Shrewsbury Folk Festival / 23rd-24th August 2019 / More info
Cornwall Folk Festival / 25th-26th August 2019 / More info
Bromyard Folk Festival / 5th-8th September 2019 / More info
Burton Folk Club / 20th September 2019 / More info
Huddlesford Boat Gathering / 21st September 2019 / More info
Folk at the Froize, Suffolk / 22nd September 2019 / More info
Chaffcombe Village Hall, Somerset / 27th September 2019 / More info
Cork Folk Festival / 4th-6th October 2019 / More info
Folk at the Grove, Leeds / 11th October 2019 / More info
Costa Del Folk, Portugal / 16th-17th October 2019 / More info
Huntingdon Hall, Worcester / 19th October 2019 / More info
Nailsea Folk Club / 8th November 2019 / More info
Conwy Folk Club / 18th November 2019 / More info
Folk at the Fold, Worcester / 30th November 2019 / More info
St Neots Folk Club / 3rd December 2019 / More info
The Ram Folk Club / 6th December 2019 / More info
https://www.grannysattic.org.uk